Crutch



Feb. 21, 1967 w. J. LUTES 3,304,946

CRUTCH Filed June 1, 1965 nmw 33 INVENTOR.

WM/am J. Lufes BY A TTORN United States Patent 3,304,946 CRUTCH William J. Lutes, 230 Monroe Drive, Apt. 13, Mountain View, Calif. 94040 Filed June 1, 1965, Ser. No. 460,153 3 Claims. (Cl. 135-50) The present invention relates to a crutch.

In the past, variou types of crutches have been developed in an attempt to find one which would be strong, reliable, comfortable and easy to use.

The present invention provides an improved crutch with a straight, telescopically adjustable, tubular staff portion, a curved armpit portion, and a stirrup hand grip portion which fits slidably onto the staff and is adjustable thereon.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved crutch to .aid an injured or crippled person in walking.

Another object of the invention is to provide a crutch having a first tubular staff portion with a second staff portion mounted for telescopic adjustment co-axially thereof, an armpit support portion being mounted for rotative adjustment on the upper end of the staff, and a stirrup type hand grip portion being mounted for axial and rotative adjustment on the staff.

The foregoing objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a person using a crutch embodying the invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged front elevation view of the crutch shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of the crutch drawn to the same scale as FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a further enlarged view of the armpit support portion, partly in elevation and partly in section, a fragment of the upper staff portion being included.

Brief description Briefly, the illustrative form of the invention coniprises a crutch A having a two part, telescoping staff 10, and armpit support portion 11 being swiveled on the upper end of the staff 10, and provided with anchoring means 12. A stirrup type hand grip portion 14 is mounted adjustably on the staff, and is provided with anchor means 15 to secure the hand grip portion to the staff.

Detailed description Referring to the drawings in greater detail, the crutch staff comprises an upper tubular portion 17 and a lower tubular portion 18 inserted telescopically therein. A series of holes 19 are provided in axially spaced relation diametrically through the upper taff portion 17, and one or more similar holes (not shown) are also provided through the lower staff portion 18. An anchoring pin 20 is inserted through aligned holes in the upper and lower staff portions when these portions are adjusted telescopically to a desired total length. A conventional non-skid crutch tip 21 is provided on the lower end of the lower staff portion 18.

The illustrative armpit support portion 11 is solid, and may be cast or molded of suitable material, such as, for example, aluminum, plastic, glass fiber and resin of other suitable material. It may be either solid or hollow as elected.

The armpit support portion 11 has a socket 22 in its lower end to receive the upper end of the upper staff portion 17 in fitted relation therein. A retainingring 23 on the lower end of the armpit portion 11 fits beneath an annular head 24 provided on the upper staff portion 17 to prevent withdrawal of the staff from its socket, but at the same time to permit swivel adjustment of the staff portion 17 relative to the armpit support portion 11. Anchoring means in the form of a set screw 12 secures the anmpit portion 11 and upper staff portion 17 in rotatively adjusted relation.

The armpit support portion 11 is curved transversely as best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, and widens from its socketed lower end toward its upper end, which is wide enough to somewhat more than span the armpit of the largest person for whom the clutch is intended. The upper edge 25 of the armpit support portion 11 is concavely curved, as best shown in FIG. 2, to provide cradle support for a users armpit. The entire armpit support portion 11 preferably is also curved lengthwise as best shown in FIG. 3 to provide some additional support by the substantial area of obliquely upwardly directed lateral surface thus presented.

The hand grip portion 13 comprises the tubular mounting portion 14 of an internal diameter to fit snugly but slidably onto the upper staff portion 17, and is provided with suitable anchor means, such as the set screw 15, by which the hand grip portion is firmly anchored in desired adjusted position on the staff 10. While the specific type of hand grip anchor means employed is not material to the invention, it is of course essential that the hand grip portion be of adequate strength, and that it be securely anchored when adjusted.

It is preferred that the hand grip anchor means 15 permits .a free selection of the relative adjusted position of the hand grip portion 13 on the staff 10, not only rotatively and axially, but also, if desired, to inverted position as shown in broken lines in FIG. 3. Thus, a user of the crutch A is able to adjust it so that it can be used for either arm, the armpit support portion 11 can curve inwardly or outwardly, and the hand grip portion 13 can be positioned so that it is either on the outside of the staff as shown in FIG. 1, or inside (not shown) as desired, or even inverted as shown in broken lines in FIG. 3.

From the tubular hand grip mounting portion 14 a pair of grip support elements 27 and 28 extend in angularly divergent relation to each other, and at acute angles to the axis of the staff receiving hole in the mounting portion 14. The outer ends of these divergent support elements 27 and 28 are joined -by a gripelement 29, of a length, diameter and shape to permit the user to grasp it firmly and to support a substantial portion of his weight comfortably thereon. The various parts of the crutch A can be made of any suitable material, and if-desired from different materials, for example, for the staff members 17 and 18, aluminum or aluminum alloy tubing has been found highly satisfactory. For the armpit support portion 11 and hand grip portion 13, aluminum castings or forgings, molded or fabricated high strength plastic, or glass fiber reinforced plastic material, would all prove highly satisfactory. Particularly in the case of the armpit support portion 11 and the hand grip portion 13 it is desirable to use a material of relatively low thermal conductivity for greater comfort of the user in extremes of hot or cold weather.

The manner of using the present invention is generally similar to that of any conventional armpit and hand grip type crutch, and therefore will be obvious to anyone familiar with crutches from the illustration of FIG. 1.

Some of the advantages of the present invention over some prior crutches reside in its lightness, strength, comfort, and the great flexibility of adjustment which is provided by the rotatably adjustable armpit support portion 11. The longitudinal and lateral curvature of the armpit support portion, and the rotative and axial adjustability, and even the invertability, of the stirrup type hand grip portion 13.

In addition, the invention provides a crutch which is of extremely attractive and modern appearance, and which provides maximum support .and comfort for the user.

While I have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it will be understood that various changes and modifications can be made in the details thereof without departing from the spirit of the invention as et forth in the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is defined in the following claims.

1. A crutch comprising a telescopically adjustable straight staff portion,

an armpit support portion having a socket in its lower end to receive the upper end of the staff portion in fitted relation therein,

means for retaining the staff portion rotatably within the socket of the armpit support portion,

releasable anchor means for securing the staff in rotatably adjusted position in its socket,

a stirrup-like hand grip portion comprising a mounting element mounted for axial and rotative adjustment on the staff portion,

a grip support element mounted on the mounting element and disposed at an acute angle to the longitudinal center line of the staff portion, and

a grip element mounted on the outer end of the grip support element and disposed perpendicular to, and in laterally offset relation to the staff portion, and anchor means for securing the hand grip support portion in rotatably and axially adjusted position on the staff portion.

2. A crutch as claimed in claim 1 wherein the staff portion comprises two lengths of tubing, one thereof being of a size to fit snugly but slidably within the other, and anchor means for locking the two lengths of tubing in telescopically adjusted relation to provide a staff having a desired length.

3. A crutch as claimed in claim 2 wherein one of the lengths of the tubing has a plurality of holes transversely therethrough, and the other length of tubing has at least one hole therethrough, positioned to register selectively with the holes in the first length of tubing upon relative, axial adjustment of the two lengths of tubing and the anchor means comprises, a pin of a size to fit into aligned holes in the two lengths of tubing to secure them in relative, axially adjusted position.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,192,290 7/1916 Engstrom 135-50 2,116,730 5/1938 Menton 135-50 2,797,698 7/1957 Vander Molen 13549 3,213,870 10/1965 Kiehn 13549 HARRISON R. MOSELEY, Primary Examiner.

P. M. CAUN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A CRUTCH COMPRISING A TELESCOPICALLY ADJUSTABLE STRAIGHT STAFF PORTION, AN ARMPIT SUPPORT PORTION HAVING A SOCKET IN ITS LOWER END TO RECEIVE THE UPPER END OF THE STAFF PORTION IN FITTED RELATION THEREIN, MEANS FOR RETAINING THE STAFF PORTION ROTATABLY WITHIN THE SOCKET OF THE ARMPIT SUPPORT PORTION, RELEASABLE ANCHOR MEANS FOR SECURING THE STAFF IN ROTATABLY ADJUSTED POSITION IN ITS SOCKET, A STIRRUP-LIKE HAND GRIP PORTION COMPRISING A MOUNTING ELEMENT MOUNTED FOR AXIAL AND ROTATIVE ADJUSTMENT ON THE STAFF PORTION, A GRIP SUPPORT ELEMENT MOUNTED ON THE MOUNTING ELEMENT AND DISPOSED AT AN ACUTE ANGLE TO THE LONGITUDINAL CENTER LINE OF THE STAFF PORTION, AND A GRIP ELEMENT MOUNTED ON THE OUTER END OF THE GRIP SUPPORT ELEMENT AND DISPOSED PERPENDICULAR TO, AND IN LATERALLY OFFSET RELATION TO THE STAFF PORTION, AND ANCHOR MEANS FOR SECURING THE HAND GRIP SUPPORT PORTION IN ROTATABLY AND AXIALLY ADJUSTED POSITION ON THE STAFF PORTION. 